Budget places
In Antalya, there are plenty of inexpensive specialized cafes. To make you understand what dish is the main at a cafe, we will tell you what cafes’ names mean:
- Kebapçı and Köfteci
These are cheap cafes which serve meat dishes: kebab (meat roasted on coals or a grill), köfte (beef or mutton meatballs), and döner (shawarma).
Agustinus Kristiadi, the author of the wiseodd.github.io/travelblog/ blog, tells about different forms of döner:
Now Doner Kebab is very versatile. It can be eaten with almost everything. However, three of the most popular would be:
Doner Durum: What most people think of Doner Kebab. This is Doner Kebab meat wrapped with pita/lavash/durum bread like a sandwich.
Doner Ekmek: Just your usual sandwich bread with Doner Kebab meat.
Pilav Utsu Doner: Doner Kebab meat on top of Pilav.
The average price for a döner is 9 Lira.
The most popular type of kebab in Antalya is iskender. This dish costs 16 to 22 Lira.
SNR79, a TripAdvisor forums user, recommends Dagdeviren restaurant for a good kebab:
We visited this restaurant during our last visit to Antalya and really liked it. It served many different kebabs.
Address: Bahçelievler Mahallesi, Konyaaltı Cd. No:54, 07050 Muratpaşa/Antalya
Nima D, a TripAdvisor forums user, found a good restaurant chain serving iskender — Baydoner:
It’s Turkish restaurant with Iskender kebab. One person iskender is 16 TL, 1.5 person dish is 20 TL and double iskender is 24TL. Double is good for meat lovers. Iskender kebab: there are many pieces of bread under the slices of meat kebab. There is a baydoner restaurant in Markantalya and Terracity shopping mall.
- Pideci
Such cafes serve pide — a Turkish analog of pizza. Depending on the size and filling, it costs 8 to 16 Lira.
Ellen Rabiner, a guest writer for the budgettraveller website, tells about pide:
Pide is a thin flat bread baked in a special oven and topped with meat, vegetables and cheese. The traditional shape of the pide is long and thin, but nowadays some places also make round ones.
Many tourists recommend a cafe called Karadeniz Pide:
Address: Liman Mahallesi, Boğaçayı Cd. Metin Apt., 07000 Konyaaltı/Antalya
- Börekçi
These cafes specialize in pies.
The authors of the ithaka blog tell what borek is:
A Turkish lasagne if you will, borek is a layered dough dish, where thin layers of dough are interspersed with fillings such as spinach, cheese, minced meat, or potatoes and then baked. The key to having a good borek is its flakiness — the pastry should just melt in your mouth.
When in Antalya, find a cafe called Börekçi Tevfik. It is a very old family cafe: pies are now cooked by the fourth generation. The Tevfiks’ secret to delicious boreks is very thin dough rolled out by hand.
For two boreks, you will pay 35 Lira. It is pretty expensive, but, after all, these are pies with history.
Cafe address: Sinan Mah, Peker Cad, 1255 Sok. Ay İşhanı, 07050 Muratpaşa/Antalya
- Tatlici or pastanesi
These are pastry shops. Here, you will find Turkish sweets: baklava, halva, and Turkish delight (lokum).
Vipfamily, a TripAdvisor forums user, tells about the place where one can buy good Turkish delight:
For Turkish Delight visit Yenigün in Antalya (not the market for Turkish Delight). Their factory and one shop is next to Deepo shopping centre near the airport. They have a branch close to the Clock Tower in Kaleici in the centre of Antalya. Always good quality and ‘tastes’ offered. They sell by the kilo or in prepacked boxes.
Also, Vipfamily does not recommend to buy Turkish delight at markets:
I am wary of buying at the markets if it’s stuff I want to last. Never sure how long it’s been in the open!.
The price for good Turkish delight starts from 20 Lira per kg, and for baklava — 30 Lira per kg.
In pastry shops, you can also find the symbol of Turkey — simit — bagels covered with sesame seeds. They are so popular that they are also sold in special shops and even carts.
- Çorbacı
The main dish here is soup.
Vipfamily, a TripAdvisor forums user, tells about this place:
There is an excellent restaurant called Çorbaci (means Soup Seller) but they do far more than soup. They have a great choice of soups obviously but other starters and then a good range of kebabs, pide etc and all at local prices. It’s a very popular place locally so the food has a quick turnover.
A large portion of soup at Çorbacı costs 5-10 Lira.
A variation of Çorbaci is İşkembeci. But if you see such a sign — run. Or do not run if you like beef tripe soup.😝
- Balik
This word means there is a cafe serving fish fast food in front of you. Here, you can try stuffed mussels, squid rings, fried fish, and shrimps. The average dish price is 8–9 Lira. Salads are free.
Europe2015summer, TripAdvisor forums user, recommends Marti Balik Ekmek:
It is a ‘MUST’ if you are near Kaleiçi (Old Town) in Antalya. Order and pay, your name will be called to collect your food within 5 minutes. Free unlimited salad bar. Variety of fresh fishes, mussels, squid (calamari) are battered fried and served in a French bread or as a portion. They also have oven baked prawns (Karides güveç).
Address: Muratpaşa Mahallesi, Atatürk Cd. 40/A, 07100 Muratpaşa/Muratpaşa/Antalya
All-you-can-eat cafes
The system of all-you-can-eat cafes in Antalya is extraordinary. You pay for the size of a plate, and then put anything you want on it.
Look for a sign with the word Büfe. Travelers recommend Açik Büfe in Old Town. It is open 24 hours a day.
Markets
Markets in Antalya are open on different weekdays. For instance, a market near MarkAntalya shopping mall is open only on Fridays.
Although all markets in the city are colorful and authentic, many travelers prefer Lara Street Market which is open on Saturdays. Thus, a TripAdvisor forums user Vipfamily says:
The best market to visit is the Saturday Market — it’s also the biggest in the area. Has a variety of goods — fresh food, clothes, household, handbags etc. Popular with locals and tourists alike.
Enes, the author of the turkeythings, tells about the location and opening hours of this market:
Lara Saturday Bazaar is open from 08.00 to 18.00 every Saturday. The market is on the LC38 bus route. You will see it on the opposite side of Laura and SheMall shopping malls. Don’t forget to bring your bargaining skills with you.
1 kg of cucumbers at Lara Saturday Market costs 3 Lira, tomatoes — 7 Lira, oranges — 2.50 Lira, and strawberry — 3.50 Lira.
Restaurants
Expats recommend the following restaurants in Antalya:
- 7 Mehmet — this is a restaurant in Ataturk Park.
The restaurant offers a wonderful sea view.
- Vanilla Lounge
ScottyMcKenna, a TripAdvisor forums user, says this restaurant is a great place in case you are tired of Turkish cuisine:
Its decor and food is modern European (a welcome break from the various kebabs we ate!) and the owners are very welcoming.
- Meltem Balik. Right, this is a fish restaurant.
Many bloggers recommend to go to one of the fish restaurants by the sea and enjoy raki with meze. Olga Maria, the author of the dreamsinheels, tells about raki:
It is sort of a national drink, similar to Tequila for Mexicans or Agua ardiente for Colombians. It is quite a strong, hard liquor with an anise flavoring. Raki is mostly drunk with meze.
Meze are snacks. One of the most authentic snacks is yogurt with red pepper. Also, there are smoked mackerel, squid rings, crab sticks, and sets of fried fish there.
A dinner at this restaurant will cost around 70 Lira. Meze cost 15–17 Lira, while a set of three types of fish — 35 Lira. A portion of raki costs 20 Lira.
Address: Altınkum, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Blv. No:126 1, 07070 Konyaaltı/Antalya
- Restaurant on a tree. Do not confuse it with Panorama Restaurant which is also on a tree but in Kemer!
Here are the phone, address, and website of that place:
!The famous rotating restaurant on top of Tünek Tepe mountain is closed.
Specialties of Antalya
You can try this only in Antalya:
- Hibeş. It is a hot spicy sauce made of sesame oil. This sauce is served with meat dishes. Its taste reminds of hummus.
- Eggplant (aubergine jam). It is sold in shops and at markets of Antalya.
This jam has a long history: it was made for the sultan in the 16th century. It is made from baby eggplants. Lots of people find it to be a delicious spread for toasts. Thus, an inmolaraan.blogspot.com blog user Isil S says:
In Antalya, south of Turkey, there is an interesting tradition, they make eggplant jam! Again, they are different eggplants, small as an egg and white. Tastes very nice.
Do not be afraid to come to Antalya as an independent traveler. There is a large number of places to eat in the city. You can try something new every day rather than content yourself with what your hotel offers. Besides, everybody’s favorite buffets can be found outside hotel walls, as well.
